The Wolf Within
by wolfqueen625
Summary: The Turtles meet a new friend.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Inhale...Exhale." said the giant rat, eyes closed and in lotus position. The four turtles were following his actions. "Focus on nothing but your breathing." he continued "Take big deep breaths..good." He opened his eyes to look at his four sons.

"Master Splinter!" The turtle in the orange mask said, raising his hand.

"Yes?" The rat replied, looking at the turtle.

"How much longer are we going to do this meditation stuff? We've been doing it for hours and I really have to go to the bathroom!"

"The point of this exercise is to sit still, focus, and balance your chi; something you should do more often Michelangelo."

"He's got you there, Mikey," said the turtle in the red mask, smirking. Michelangelo slowly put down his hand, a little embarrassed.

"Sansei is right," The blue-masked one said, "It is important for a true ninja to balance his chi and focus. It could help us prepare for anything."

"Very good Leonardo." Splinter said nodding to the turtle. The red-masked turtle sighed, leave it to Leo to be the teacher's pet. "My sons, we have done enough for now. We will continue your training later." The four turtles stood up and bowed to their Sansei.

A moment later, Mikey ran to the couch and turned on the TV. Raphael walked over to the old beaten-up punching bag and began to throw a few hits, Leo went over to join him. Then the purple masked turtle, Donatello, went to his little study and continued to update some new gadget. Splinter just stood there, looking around his home; something was not right. He scanned his surroundings with his brown and black eyes; then at that moment, he thought he saw something move. A dark figure, a shadow; for a moment it was there, then it was gone. Leonardo noticed the look on his father's face and started to worry too.

"Uh Master Splinter..are you-" but Leo was interrupted. Someone sprang out of the dark, jumping from the upper level of the lair and landed a few feet away from Splinter. The intruder was wore all black and completely masked, resembling one of the foot ninja. The only thing that was covered in black were a pair of big bright blue eyes. The ninja stood there, staring at Splinter, holding up a katana.

"Enough of this!" Raphael shouted and started to attack the stranger. Slow to react, Raphael was defeated with one stroke of the sword. The turtle was thrown back against the wall, his twin sai fallen out of his hands.

Michelangelo took out his orange nunchucks and also tried to attack. In an instant the ninja ripped the weapons from his hands and throwing him against the wall too.

"Woa!" Mikey said "That is one tough ninja. He's even beaten you Raph, but I admit it's isn't very hard."

"You just keep talking and I'll show you hard." Raph threatened, rubbing his aching head.

Donatello and Leo sprang into action and faced the warrior. He turned to Donatello and broke his bow staff cleanly in two pieces. Leo was quick to stand on front of his brother. He swung his two katanas at the enemy, but he held up his sword and blocked the strike. Leonardo struck again and again, but his every move was blocked. Exhausted, Leo dropped his swords and threw a punch at the ninja. Just as about his fist came in contact with the body, the ninja's hand grabbed his wrist. Leo was unmoving, his arm still outstretched; and the stranger remained unflinching. The next moment, the grip was tightened and Leo was shoved backwards. All four turtles were on the stone floor of the lair, moaning from their blow. Splinter remained where he was the whole time, nothing had touched him or the intruder. The stranger turned to face Splinter and finally removed the mask and revealed his face...or should I say her face?

"You have fought well young warrior." Splinter said, bowing to her. She bowed in return.

"I learned from the best..sansei."

"Sansei?" All four turtles cried at once. They slowly got up on their feet and approached her. They could now really look at the young girl standing before them. She was well built, and long brown hair that was a little bit on the wavy side. The thing that was odd about the girl was that she seemed, wolf-like. She had a long tail and pointy dog ears on the top of her head to match.

"You know this girl?" Raphael asked Splinter.

"Yes my son," he replied "I have known her for quite a while." Splinter put a hand on the girl's shoulder, which was a head higher than him. "She once was a student of mine."

"I'm Vittoria." the girl said, speaking for the first time.

"Leonardo." the blue masked turtle said, "This is my brother Donatello." He pointed to his purple-masked brother and both turtles bowed to Vittoria.

"Yeah...sorry about your bow staff." Vittoria said a little awkwardly.

"Eh, it's fine." Donatello replied "Easily fixed."

"And this is Raph, and I'm Mikey!" the turtle in the orange said.

"Just ignore shell for brains over here." Raphael said, "Trust me, life will be much easier for you.". He chuckled to himself

"Let's sit down and have some tea before we overwhelm our guest." Splinter said, "We have much to talk about."

The rat, four turtles, and the wolf-like girl sat on couches and easy chairs; each with a cup of tea in front of them. It was pretty quiet for a minute or two, just the sounds of the clinking of china and sipping tea.

"I'm gonna ask this." Michelangelo said, breaking the silence, "How the shell do you know Master Splinter?"

"Yeah, and how did you find out where the lair was anyway?" Raphael added, "And where you born like..."

"Like this?" Vittoria said pointing towards her ears. Raph nodded. "Well, no actually; I was born a normal human being. I lived right here in the city. For a while I lived an average New York life; but one day everything changed. The day started like any other. I walked to the subway like I always do, when suddenly I was captured by some men dressed in all black. They dragged me into the shadows, I tried to yell for help but they silenced me. Then, everything went dark. The next thing I remember is waking up and finding myself in some high-tech lab. I was in a glass cage and next to me was a cage with a large dog in it. It was huddled in a corner, tail between it's legs. I felt so much sympathy for the poor thing. A scientist came in the room along with some huge, buff guy with blond hair in a rat tail and a tattoo of a purple dragon on one arm, and some weird red symbol on the other. He took me out of the glass box and dragged me out to face the scientist. He introduced himself as Baxter Stockman."

"Stockman!" Donatello exclaimed in both shock and interest.

"You know him?" Vittoria asked.

"His technology is amazing!" Donatello replied "But he destroyed our old home and has attacked us numerous times."

"I see," Vittoria continued, "Stockman told me he that I was gonna be a part of an experiment with combining DNA."

"Did he tell you what it was for?" Leo asked.

"He mentioned that it was for adding wolf-like strength and abilities along with human intelligence and form."

"So fascinating!" Donatello said with his eyes wide with excitement.

"You really love technology, huh?" Vittoria asked humorously.

"Donnie here makes all types of techno stuff!" Michelangelo said, pointing to his brother. "You should see what this turtle can build!". Donatello blushed a little.

"Anyway..." Vittoria continued, "after Stockman gave me his little intro, he ordered the huge man, who he called 'Hun', to put me on an operating table and strap me down. He took blood samples and put them in test tubes and mixed it with many different things and sometimes using fire and electricity. The whole time I was just laying there, waiting for something to happen. After a long while, Stockman approached me with a syringe filled with something that I knew was going to go inside me. He ejected the stuff in my body. The effect was instant. It was extreme pain, I became what I looked like today. Stockman just stood there laughing, admiring his success. I wanted to escape, I just had to. While he was distracted by his results. I tilted the table which spilled some beakers and caused a foggy gas. I broke free from the bonds and ran out of the building as fast as I could."

At this point, the turtles and the rat were completely quiet(even Michelangelo).They all leaned in urging Vittoria to continue the story.

"As soon as I was out, I went to the sewers so I couldn't be found by Stockman and Hun." Vittoria continued. "In the sewers, I just kept on running. As far away as I possibly could from that horrible place. I didn't really see where I was going, and I literally ran into Master Splinter. He was already in his..you know...condition. He thought I was an enemy and raised his walking stick, preparing to attack. I just kneeled before him, and crying my eyes out and I have no idea why. We introduced each other and he comforted me and told me the story about how he came to be. I did make me feel a little better. Master Splinter had taken me to his study in your old lair and taught me martial arts at night while you guys were slept. He even gave me my own katana. After about two years I kinda wanted to go my own way. So I just set off to see the outside world again. And well you know the rest." Vittoria finished, taking a sip from her tea cup.

"How did you find us Vittoria?" Splinter asked her.

"Well I went your old home and saw it was blocked off. I just wandered around the sewers and I heard you talking. The DNA did increase my hearing"

"One more thing." Michelangelo said, "Why the shell did you almost wax us?"

"I like being a bit dramatic." Vittoria grinned and took another sip of tea.

"Well you must be very tired." Splinter said, "You can sleep in one of the extra rooms and you can get some rest."

"Thank you for your hospitality." Vittoria stood up and bowed again to her sansei. Splinter rose and the two walked off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Leonardo couldn't sleep. Ever since he heard Vittoria's story, he couldn't keep his mind off it. He was still shocked that anyone was so heartless to do something like this to someone. He sat up on his bed, his head in his hands. After about a minute, he decided that he was going up to the surface. He thought some fresh air would help clear his head. The lair was dark, everyone seemed to be sleeping. Leo walked around the lair, trying to be as quiet as possible. Leo was just out the door, when something stopped him.

"Out for a stroll Leo?" a rough deep voice said from the dark. Raphael stepped into the light to reveal his smirk.

"Is Splinter's little turtle actually going up above ground?" Raphael said in a slight mocking tone.

"I'm just going out for a walk." Leo responded, "That's it."

"Oh sure, I believe you." Raphael said in the same type of voice; he smirked again at his brother. Leonardo just sighed and turned to the door again. Vittoria came out of the shadows and blocked his path.

"At least let us come with you." Vittoria said with a hint of concern in her tone

"You know, in case we see a bad guy or two." Raphael added, putting his fists together and smirking to himself.

"Fine, but we are only going for some air." Leo said glaring at his brother "Are we clear Raphael?"

"Hey, what ever you say Bro." Raphael replied, still having that sneaky grin on his face.

Leonardo gestured for Vittoria and his brother to follow, then the three ran out of the stony lair.

It was a cool early September night. It was a rare night that the city was quiet and still. The only source of light were the tall street lamps and the occasional light from apartment windows. Vittoria and the two turtles sat on the top of one of the buildings. They were lying down, side by side, gazing up at the black sky. There were no stars out, just the moon, round and silver.

"It's a beautiful night." Leo said to break the group's silence.

"It really is..." Vittoria sighed as she sat to look at the view of the alley. The quiet didn't last very long.

"Where's the stuff?" They heard a deep and threatening voice yelled.

Vittoria looked over the edge of the roof and they saw a group of dark figures huddled in an alley nearby.

"Hey, what's up?" Raph asked Vittoria.

"I'm not sure...but I'm gonna find out." Vittoria said.

Before Leo could say anything, Vittoria got up on her feet and jumped onto the next roof. Raphael was eager to follow Vittoria, thinking that there would be some action. Leo just sighed, palm on his head, he reluctantly went after the other two.

When he was caught up with them, they were looking down on a dark alley with only one single feint streetlight shining down on it. There was a small group of people surrounding a single timid man. The group was dressed in street-punk clothes, each had at least one piercing, and most hand dyed their hair in different bright colors. Each member has hold some type of weapon; baseball bats, crowbars, even hockey sticks. They all had a purple dragon somewhere on their body or their clothes.

The only one who stood out was a tall and muscly man, who was directly in front of the frightened soon-to-be victim. When Vittoria saw him, she gasped. She recognized the man at once.

"That's Hun!" she gasped, pointing at the man.

"Purple Dragons..." Raphael growled, moving his hands towards his sai.

"Not now Raph!" Leonardo whispered, stopping his brother from taking out his weapons, "Let's just watch a little more."

Raphael mumbled under his breath, of course Leo would say that.

"We had a deal!" The three heard Hun continue, "So I will say this again. Where is the stuff?"

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about." The scrawny man in a scientist's coat stuttered.

"We had a deal, punk!" Hun said, a clenched fist inches away from the other man's face. "You had 24 hours to get us what we wanted. And you know when we don't get what we want, we get a little...upset."

The group gathered around Hun chuckled and started to crowd closer and closer to the scared man.

"B-B-But the stuff you want is highly dangerous chemicals s-s-sir. Even I couldn't get them."

"A deal's a deal." Hun said, he turn to his posse "Alright dragons! Do your worst!"

The group drew in closer and closer to the man. They raised their weapons, just about ready to strike.

"I can't watch anymore!" Vittoria said, and with a second thought she jumped from the roof and landed in front of the man. She held up her katana in front of her, ready for the fight. Raph and Leo were next to her in the next few seconds.

"Well, well, well..." Hun said, passing through the group to face the Vittoria and the turtles.

"If it isn't two of the freaks! I see you have a new friend..." Hun looked at Vittoria for a second, the he gave her a devious grin.

"I remember you," he said "you're Stockman's little guinea pig. Long time, no see."

"I've been waiting a long time to kick your sorry ass!" Vittoria snapped at him. The Purple Dragons oo'd at her remark, but Hun kept his expression the same. Vittoria turned to the turtles and nodded. Then, at the same time, they started to attack.

Vittoria was by far the fastest of the three. One by one she beat the Purple Dragon goonies, going about a mile a minute. Adrenaline was pumping through her, her heart was beating harder and harder. Leonardo and Raphael just stood there in amazement as each Purple Dragon ended up on the concrete, bruised and battered.

As the last of the goonies went down, Hun approached her, he still had that smile on his face.

"I see you have learned some new moves." Hun said, he towed over Vittoria by at least six inches. He moved closer so he could look directly down at her face. She looked right back at him, breathing heavily and clenching her fists.

"You can see them for yourself!"

As soon as she said that, Vittoria threw a punch at Hun's chest. It pushed him back a little. Then she took one big kick at Hun's side. His body slammed against a brick wall and landed with a crash in an array of garbage cans.

"Stockman will be so happy when he hears that his little experiment is a success. The Shredder will be very pleased as well." He said, getting up on his feet.

Vittoria anger filled started towards Hun but Raphael and Leonardo tried to hold her back.

"Let go!" Vittoria snarled trying to break free, "He's MINE!"

At that moment Leo, looked at Vittoria's face and noticed something odd. Instead of blue, her eyes were a bright yellow. Leo was so distracted by this that his hold loosened and Vittoria broke free.

She walked up to Hun again and was about to punch him when he had blocked her move and knocked her down. Vittoria he was quick to get back up. She pulled out her katana and held in front of Hun's face, who was right against the wall. She stopped for a second and just looked blankly at Hun's face.

"What are you waiting for freak?" Hun yelled "Just do it already!"

Vittoria continued to stare for a moment, then she put her katana down.

"I just can't." She said quietly "It's not honorable."

"You coward!" Hun said, stepping away from the brick. "Purple Dragons! Let's move!"

The group of street punks slowly got up and followed Hun out of the alley. Vittoria turned to face Leonardo and Raphael, and she fell to her hands and knees. The brothers went to her side to help her. She had her hands over her face, crying quietly. Leo saw that her eyes had returned to their original shade of blue.

"I'm so sorry..." Vittoria said behind the tears "...and I just couldn't..."

"You did the right thing Vittoria." Leo said with her arm around her, trying to comfort her.

"Yeah," Raph continued awkwardly(he was normally not the 'comforting' type) "You were great! Those goons had no idea what hit 'em!"

Vittoria laughed a little at Raph's attempt to help, she wiped away a tear that was running down her cheek.

"No it's not that." She said, her crying had stopped and her voice was normal again.

"Sometimes, that wolf DNA really kicks in and..."

"Easy," Leo said "You really should be getting some rest Vittoria."

"Let's go back to the lair." Raphael agreed.

They went to the nearest man-hole and Raphael opened it.

"Ladies first." He said, letting Vittoria to climb down. Once she was out of earshot, he leaned towards his brother and whispered "So much for 'just some fresh air' huh, Leo?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Woah!" Michelangelo said when Leo and Raphael finished their story on last night.

It was early afternoon. The four brothers were on the couches, (Raphael, of course, had his feet up on the coffee table) and Vittoria was still asleep in her room. Splinter was, as always, in his study meditating. The turtles didn't really mind, they didn't want him to hear them anyway.

"She's even more of a hot head than Raph! And that's saying something." Mikey continued; Donatello couldn't help but smile.

"And she said that the strange DNA caused it?" He asked.

"Yes she did." Leonardo replied. Then he leaned in towards his brothers and whispered "While Raphael and I were trying to hold her back, something...weird happened. Her eyes were a bright yellow. What do you think Donnie?"

"I don't know Leo." Donatello said, rubbing his chin in thought. "I will have to look in to it."

"Wait? Does this mean if we talk to her she will jump out and kick our shells?" Michelangelo asked. "I'm still recovering from the last time."

"Just try not to annoy her." Leonardo said "We never know what might set her off."

"So don't talk to her Mikey." Raphael said "Even your voice would set _me _off."

"Oh ha-ha!" Mikey said sarcastically "Your so funny."

Vittoria entered the room, walking at a slow pace. She was wearing loose pajama pants, a purple t-shirt, and fuzzy slippers.

"Morning." She yawned.

"Morning." The brothers replied in unison.

Vittoria looked at the four turtles. She felt something different in the air. They were looking at her in a strange way. Before she could say anything, Master Splinter walked up to her, carrying a porcelain teapot.

"Ah, good. You're up." Splinter said "Come Vittoria, let us have some tea and meditate."

Vittoria walked off with Master Splinter towards his study. She looked back at the the turtles, they were once again huddled and whispering to each other. It gave her the feeling that they...were scared of her.

Splinter's study used to be, and still is, one of Vittoria's favorite places in the city. She would remember those nights training and meditating with him. New lair or old, his the room was the same as ever. The door to the room a traditional Japanese sliding door; a low, dark-wood table in the center surrounded by colorful silk cushions. Scrolls of Japanese art hung on the walls(Vittoria's favorite was the one of a house near some mountains), a wall was also lined with swords and other traditional weapons, near the door was a framed picture of Yoshi(Splinter's sensei), and next to it a picture of Splinter with his four sons.

Splinter sat by the table and gestured for Vittoria to sit down. He had put the teapot, two cups, and an incense burner on the table. He poured some tea into the cups and handed one to Vittoria.

"Here." He said "Drink it, it's your favorite."

"_Mmmm_...green tea with honey. Thank you Sensei." She lifted her cup and slowly sipped it. Splinter noticed that she had a bit of a sad look on her face.

"What is wrong Vittoria?" He asked with concern

"Oh...I..." Vittoria didn't really know how to tell him.

"Did it happen again last night?" He asked. She looked up at him in shock.

"How did you know?"

"I could overhear my sons talking about it." He said.

Vittoria wrapped her arms around herself and a tear ran down her cheek.

"They _are_ afraid of me." She said quietly.

Splinter got up and moved to sit next to Vittoria and put his arm around her shoulder.

"They aren't afraid of you Vittoria. It's just going to take a little time. You will see, soon they will understand. After all, they are four giant mutant turtles."

Vittoria laughed a little and wiped away the tear. Splinter was like a father to her. He helped her get through the first year of her..transformation.

"Come on now." Splinter said, "Let us begin your balance training."

Splinter and Vittoria shifted themselves so they sat facing each other. They put their legs into lotus position and put the back of their hands on their knees. Vittoria closed her eyes and began to take in deep breaths. Then, for that moment, all of her troubles and worries just seemed to fade out and vanish. Then her vision began.

_Vittoria was in blank darkness. She was sitting in lotus position and she was levitating a few inches from the ground. Suddenly Vittoria noticed something light shone in front of her. She uncrossed her legs and her feet gently landed on the floor. She approached the object and she saw that it was a light switch. Not knowing what else to do, she flicked the light on. Instantly the whole space around Vittoira showed. It looked like a science lab. She looked around a little bit and examined a stainless steel table. On the table, there was a remote control with a few buttons. She pressed the button that was the biggest. Then there were loud sounds, whirring of gears and the beeps of machines. A wall rotated and revealed the other side of it. _

_They were containers, huge round vessel-like things filled with a watery liquid. In these containers were people, people with tubes attached to their faces, arms, and legs. These people had wolf ears and wolf tails, just like Vittoria. She gasped at the sight. She couldn't believe it. Then she heard a laugh; a deep and evil laugh which sent chills up her spine. The laugher grew as a man approached. A tall and dark man wearing a white scientist's coat and round glasses. It was Dr. Stockman. _

_He stepped into the light, in front of Vittoira. He broke one of the glass vessels, and then they all shattered simultaneously. The creatures inside all opened their eyes and started to walk toward Vittoria. Their eyes were all a bright glowing yellow and staring blankly. They slowly crowed her, they were getting closer and closer, and Stockman just kept on laughing. Vittoria was surrounded by a circle of bodies; as they get even closer she couldn't see anything but black. She let out a horrifying scream and-_

Vittoira's eyes shot open, she was gasping for breath. She put her hands on her chest, it wasn't real. She looked around, she was still in Master Splinter's inviting study. His cushion was still occupied by him, totally focused on his meditation. She was relieved it was over. It couldn't have been real, it was all just a dream..right?


End file.
